• A fire at an electrical sub -station that supplies London Hyithro airport It caused the main power outage, which resulted in thousands of flights and the evacuation of 180 people. The authorities are investigating the case, while airlines, such as British Airways, are restoring the passenger notebook with a wide mixture of travel.

UK Airport the most crowded Closed todayThousands of flights are based after a fire in the electrical station that provides the airport.

London Heathrow It was without authority on Friday, March 21, after the fire broke out overnight in Hayes, west of London.

The London Fire Fire brigade confirmed that 10 engines and about 70 firefighters were sent to the scene, and no one was injured.

Nearly 180 people were evacuated from their homes with a 200 -meter collar around the sub -station.

I left homes and companies without authority,Including Heathrow Airport,That had to establish thousands of flights.

“Because of a fire at a power station supplies the airport, Heathrow is witnessing a major power out of energy. To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23 hours on March 21,” Heathrow Airport said in a statement.

“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and they must contact their airlines for more information. We apologize for inconvenience.”

Thousands of flights They were to leave from Heathrow today. These flights include flights from all over Europe and sites such as Chicago, Washington, DC, New York and Toronto.

The main airline that takes the Heathrow is British Airways (BA) in Building 3, which is participating with American Air Airways.

Ba He said in a statement: “Because of the power outages in the Heathrow area of ​​London, the London Heathrow Airport is currently closed. As a result, customers are advised because of the travel from Heathrow on Friday not to travel to the airport until further notice.

“It is clear that this will have a great impact on our operation and customers, and we are working as quickly as possible to update their travel options for 24 hours and beyond.”

“We are familiar with the situation at Heathrow Airport today and support as required. Flights from London Gatwick are working as usual today.”

What caused the fire?

The passenger passengers due to the fire pushing to get questions about how to leave this huge location – less than five square miles – completely without strength.

The Minister of Energy in the nation, Ed Miliband, Sky News said The fire also harmed the airport’s backup generator.

The politician added that the damage to the main generators and the spare copy indicates the extent of “extraordinary and unprecedented situation.”

He added that it was too early to know “the cause of the sub -fire, but he said that he was in contact with the national network – the service of distributing electricity in England and Wales – to provide updates.

“There is a third backup – a second backup if you want – seeking to use it to restore energy. There are backup mechanisms in place but given the size of these backup mechanisms, it seems to be also affected.”

“It is clear with any such accident, we will want to understand the reason for its occurrence and what it is, if any, on our infrastructure.”

The London Fire Fire brigade added that the firefighters are working closely with the Metropolitan police service regarding the investigation of the cause of the fire.

“With the progress of the morning, the turmoil is expected to continue, and we urge people to avoid the area whenever possible,” added the assistant commissioner in the brigade, Pat Gulborn.

Aviation expert, John Strickland, added to BBC Gallery 5Live that the systems will ensure the safety of passengers in the utmost levels of emergency.

However, due to the size of the airport services, the disruption of energy supplies has large -scale consequences: “There are many systems at an airport used by many different players, not only the airport itself and airlines, but agents in dealing, engineering companies, food companies, and naming.”

Although this may include something simple like the lights in the toilets, it also includes additional services such as luggage that is loaded and maneuver throughout the airport.

Customer reaction

BA customers are asked to send a message to them directly on social media platforms such as X – known as Twitter – in order to restore their flight book.

The airline also directs passengers to Flight status page To keep them updated when resuming services.

One of the clients in the Maldives Sky Islands said that the late travelers had been given vouchers to apologize for the inconvenience, saying: “There is absolutely no news, because it is assumed that there is no news to provide it.

“We got almost” meal “vouchers as soon as we were safely going through, which we thought was nice. Then we went to get this meal only to tell us that it is not only 14 pounds, so it does not cover the cost of the meal at this airport.

“The notification board does not say anything more than delay.”

Tori Dizilo was on her way to Heathrow from the Newark Airport in the United States when she noticed that her plane had done a “turn” in the air.

to talk To BBCDunzello said: “I saw the time on the screen began to increase, so I operated my global map and started seeing a big turn … I called the assistant and said,” Do we turn? “Yes, we are because of a massive fire in Heathrow,” she said.

The plane later stopped refueling in Canada.

According to the Tracking Flightradar24, more than 100 aircraft were heading to Heathrow in the air when the closure was announced.

This story was originally shown on Fortune.com

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2025-03-21 11:38:00